Parachute Toy and Kit Therefor

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a parachute toy. The parachute toy includes an elastic hinge and is adapted to achieve substantially high ascension heights via hand launching. The parachute toy may be provided in kit form such that the user may develop construction skills and satisfaction by assembling the parachute toy from provided constituent parts

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This US nonprovisional utility patent application claims the benefitunder 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. provisional application No. 62/396,776filed Sep. 19, 2016 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by thisreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to toys, and in particular, to toys havingparachutes for use in launching projectiles and watching the projectilesslowly descend due to wind resistance, and kits therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Parachute toys are well known in the industry and enjoy widespread use.However, such parachute toys typically are relatively limited inascension height, are complex, and do not lend themselves toconstruction from a kit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a parachute toy. The parachute toy includes anelastic hinge and is adapted to achieve substantially high ascensionheights via hand launching. The parachute toy may be provided in kitform such that the user may develop construction skills and satisfactionby assembling the parachute toy from provided constituent parts.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstood, a more particular description of the invention brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsthat are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are nottherefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the inventionwill be described and explained with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a trimetric view of the parachute toy in an assembled andunpacked configuration;

FIG. 2 is a trimetric view of the parachute toy in an assembled andpacked configuration;

FIG. 3 is a trimetric view of the housing of the parachute toy;

FIG. 4 is a trimetric view of the parachute toy in an assembled, packed,and readied for launch configuration;

FIG. 5 is a trimetric view of the parachute toy in an assembled, packed,and launching configuration;

FIG. 6 is a trimetric view of the parachute toy in an assembled, packed,and ascending configuration;

FIG. 7 is a trimetric view of the parachute toy in an assembled,unpacked (deployed), and descending configuration, and;

FIG. 6 is a trimetric view of exemplary tarred twine used for thelanyard of the parachute toy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus,appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” andsimilar language throughout this specification may, but do notnecessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics ofthe invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details areincluded to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of theinvention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, thatthe invention can be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. Inother instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are notshown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of theinvention.

Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment the invention is aparachute toy for use as an amusement device in launching the parachutetoy and in observing the parachute toy descend, and for use indeveloping construction skills and satisfaction by assembling theparachute toy. The parachute toy comprises a housing, a canopy assembly,a handle assembly, and a rubber band. The housing further comprises afirst hollow hemispherical housing member having latch member, a secondhollow hemispherical housing member having latch member, hinge members,each hinge member having a retention flange, a hinge pin, and an eyelet.The canopy assembly further comprises a canopy, a plurality of shroudlines, and a spring clip. The handle assembly further comprises a handleand a lanyard.

Housing members, hinge members, and the handle are preferablyconstructed from plastic via conventional manufacturing process (e.g.injection molding), or may be made via a rapid prototype process (e.g.sterolithography, 3D printing, etc.). The housing members are preferablygeometrically substantially identical and the hinge members arepreferably geometrically substantially identical. It is noted that ahousing member and a latch member may alternatively be manufactured as asingle integral member. The hinge pin preferably defines a singularmetal hinge pin but may alternately comprise a pair of metal screws. Theeyelet preferably defines a standard threaded metal eyelet. The handleincludes a retention flange and the lanyard defines a length of stringor twine, and more preferably tarred twine such as may be obtained fromCatahoula Manufacturing (ref FIG. 8). The canopy preferably defines apliable plastic sheet. The shroud lines define a plurality of lengths ofstring or twine. The spring clip preferably defines a conventional metalspring clip. The rubber band preferably defines a convention rubber bandsized so as to provide a biasing load when connected to the hingemembers but may alternatively define another generally elastomericmember such as a hair band.

The housing is assembled such that a hinge member is fastened to each ofthe first housing member and the second housing member. The hinge pin isinserted through the hinge members such so as to form a swivelablehinge, and the eyelet is threaded into a housing member. The canopyassembly is assembled such that the plurality of shroud lines areconnected to an outer periphery of the canopy on a first end and to thespring clip on a second end. The handle assembly is assembled such thatthe lanyard is connected to the handle retention flange on a first end.

The parachute toy is assembled such that the spring clip is connected tothe eyelet, the lanyard is connected to a latch member, and the rubberband is connected to the housing by connecting a first end of the rubberto a first hinge retention flange, and a second end of the rubber to asecond hinge retention flange such that such that an “open-biasing-load”is placed on the housing.

The parachute toy is packed or prepared for launch by folding the canopyand shroud lines into a packed configuration and placing the foldedcanopy and shroud lines within the housing. The housing is then closedand a portion of the lanyard on the lanyard end connect to a latch isthen threaded through both latch members such that the threading of thelanyard applies a “closing-load” on the housing that partiallycompensates for or partially reacts the open-biasing-load.

In practice, while holding the housing closed with one hand, the slackin the lanyard is eliminated (see FIG. 4). The user then initiatesswinging of the parachute toy (see FIG. 5). The combination ofcentripetal and airflow forces on the housing cause the housing toremain closed during the swing process. At an appropriate time in theswing process, the user releases the parachute toy causing the parachutetoy to ascend skyward. During the majority of the ascension of theparachute toy, the drag of the handle and lanyard and airflow forces onthe housing cause the housing to remain closed. As the parachute toyapproaches its apex or peak ascension height and slows, the drag of thehandle and lanyard and the airflow forces on the housing are reducedsuch that the open-biasing-load of the rubber band overcomes theclosing-load of the threaded lanyard, and the lanyard slides through thelatch members and the housing opens. Opening of the housing allows thecanopy and shroud lines to fall out of the housing. As the parachute toybegins to descend, airflow past the canopy causes the canopy to open.Resistance of the canopy against the air cause significant slowing ofthe descent of the parachute toy allow the parachute toy to float gentlyback to earth.

It is noted that in one embodiment, the parachute toy is provided as anassembled and complete product, but in a second embodiment, theparachute toy is provided as a kit having the various componentsrequired to assemble the parachute toy. In yet another alternateembodiment, the parachute toy is provided as a kit having some of thevarious components required to assemble the parachute toy but withoutthe housing, hinge, and handle members but with the CAD (Computer AidedDesign) or “STL” or like files (hereinafter Part Creation Files or“PCF”) that may be used (via providing the geometric data) to create thehousing, hinge, and handle members via 3D printing.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A parachute toy having a hinged housing havinglatch members, an elastomeric member connected to said housing so as toapply an open-biasing-load to said housing, shroud lines connected to acanopy on a first end and to said housing on a second end, and a lanyardconnected to a handle on a first end and to a latch member on a secondend, wherein said shroud lines and said canopy are packed within saidhousing, and wherein said lanyard is threaded through said latch membersso as to apply a closing-load to said housing.
 2. The parachute toy ofclaim 1, wherein in a static position, said open-biasing-load exceedssaid closing-load.
 3. The parachute toy of claim 1, wherein in theabsence of predetermined airflow forces and predetermined and handle andlanyard drag forces acting upon said housing, said housing opens.
 4. Theparachute toy of claim 1, wherein said lanyard comprises a predeterminedlength of tarred twine.
 5. A parachute toy kit having a plurality ofshroud lines, a canopy, a spring clip, a threaded eyelet, a hinge pin, alanyard, an elastomeric member, and at least one of a housing and a PCFfor said housing.